Thursday, February 28, 2008

Now that Bergeron has been shipped out west. It is time for Bryan Berard to NOW (not in the 1990's) lead this team on the power play, and on defense. He was givin a chance when nobody else wanted him. He wanted to come here, to play here, to prove to others he can still play in this league.

Granted he was benched in place of Bergeron. Then when the injuries started piling up, he got the call to play. Now it's just him, his way, his time, his renaissance.

Watch for Berards +/- go upward with a more defensive minded Davison playing with him at full strength, and look for Johnson to keep the puck more in the offensive zone, instead of losing it on the power play (Bergeron).

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Let's not forget we do have a lot of season ending injuries to this team. We've lost a full line (Bates, Sillinger, Sim) on offense, and Campoli on defense, which is really hurting us,We are getting Witt back, and that will help out defensively. Me personally, I would really like to see Berard shine on the powerplay, and mentor Johnson, and even Meyer a little. We need more bodies out in front of the net for the PP to be succesful.

I also like the idea of Simon going and Tambs coming in just for the sake of having two lines that are scoring threats. Ironically, those two lines (the Bridgeport line and the Fed-Hunter-Vasicek) have been the most consistent recently.

The next month and a half are HUGE not only for the kids, but for this organization. The fans got what they wanted in that the kids are now here with the big club, and this team will go as far as the kids can help them. If we are still in the hunt by the end of March, Islander fans should be optimistic about the posssibility of a playoff berth, despite a long list of injuries, and that we have a ton of picks for the first three rounds in this years upcoming draft.Let's be grateful for what we have, and support this team. The upper management heard our call in the young kids, now they're here. Start cheering and watch or go to the games.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Mike Sillinger has opted to have hip surgery and will be out the rest of this season.

This is a huge blow to the Isanders. I think that winger the islanders need is now more precedent then ever, so Hilbrt can go back to the center position, and try to make up some of the faceoffs he have been losing.

Islanders lost yesterday 4-2 to the Devils. Now players and fans will watch or read with bated breathe, and imagine what Garth Snow may or may not do the next 2 1/2 days. The Islanders don't play again until Tuesday after the deadline is over, which means all the fans have to look forward to is nervousness with the possible transactions.

The Islanders need a scoring winger for the first line. If that can happen, I wouldn't be surprised to see another winning streak and a jump into the playoffs.

If they can improve on defense, then they need to make sure he is not injury prone.

Finally, racking up a few more picks for this years and next years draft also wouldn't hurt them.

The players who are unrestricted at the end of the year need to make a decision on whether or not they want to be Islanders.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Defenseman Drew Fata was recalled today from Bridgeport to take the roster spot of Andy Sutton, who suffered a pulled hamstring at the end of the Islanders’ 3-2 comeback victory over San Jose Monday afternoon at the Coliseum. Sutton is expected to be out 4-6 weeks with a partially torn hamstring.

I don't think Snow is going to keep this line up for his defence like this. I wouldn't be surprised if a player was picked out of waivers, or a deal cold be made sooner rather than later to improve on this defence.

While Fletcher is among the busiest GMs at the meetings, he's not alone. The Kings, Islanders, Lightning, Blue Jackets and Oilers are all expected to be sellers.

I agree with all those teams except for the Islanders. They're too close to the playoffs and from the looks of things in the East, any team is beatable this year.The Isladers need to make the playoffs in order to generate more revenue and support for the Lighthouse Project that the Islander fans so desperatly need.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Now this is going to be tough on Snow to trade anybody. If they still had lost, this would be a no-brainer, and you would start a fire sale.....nope. With the deadline approaching and the general managers meeting presently going on, Islander fans can only imagine what Snow may do....my opinion, he may do othing at all, and ride the wave.

Also there is a rumor just starting tonight that Cliff Fletcher from Toronoto has contacted Snow about McCabe and possibly trading him back to Long Island, and I'm looking into it.

Monday, February 11, 2008

With just 7 games remaining before the trade deadline, Islanders GM garth Snow has some decisions to make between now and Feburary 26th. He has younger players ready to play; and some of the veterans who are not performing well throughout the season, but cannot send them anywhere. Who then will he trade, and, even more important, what can we get for these veterans?

The only player we could trade with any kind of value is Satan. We may be able to get a player playing in the NHL now, and a possible pick for him, but that would also mean, he would have to wave his no-trade clause. The other players of interest maybe Hunter, and Comrie, but they may be resigned. As far as any other player, any draft pick will probably be taken for them.

Look for the draft picks to be in 2009 not 2008 because of a deep draft pool for this year.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

I'm personally going to be intrigued about how well all the Bridgeport kids play the next few games. I'm not concerned really about the timing of their arrival, whether they should have came up sooner, or how long they stay. I want to see the kids play and succeed at this level under this system. When the kids are sent back down, and the injured players return, then we may have a good indication as to what the Islanders need for next year.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

I've been doing alot of reading on different blogs, and everyone is calling for a sale of the veterans and bringing up the kids now to help the season. Well, that's a nice solution, however, this is the problem:

First: We can only have a certain amount of players on this team. Hence, that is why the youngsters are not up yet until someone like Sillinger is injured or others cannot play. To my knowledge, only Gervais would be allowed to go to the minors without going through the waiver wire. As this season has unfolded, we have needed all of the defenceman used throughout this year, and cannot bring up the forwards.

Now if we were to bring up a youngster, then that would mean that we could lose that veteran to the waiver wire by another team, and since most of the FA's have one year deals, these players would be plucked off the wire as a low risk, high reward, and that would defeat the purpose of trading for draft picks, or prospects in the next three or so weeks.My point is this: let's get the most out of our vets now if we are going to trade them. If they play well, the better, the trade.

For the people who want to be in a sell mode: You'll need two things for a little while. First is patience. Most teams won't be trading until that week of the trade deadline. Second you need other teams to be involved in trades, and right now, because of cap reasons or players with no trade clauses, it may be hard RIGHT NOW, to take a few of the Islanders players.

Instead of ranting to be in sell mode now, save that for another two weeks when it's the right time to "sell," and actually have some fun and come up with scinarios for the players we do want to trade.